


Grounded

by CycloneRachel



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: (mentions of j'onn and lena), Angst with a Happy Ending, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Friendship, Gen, Loss, One Shot, Spoilers for 4x13
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 02:19:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17992982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CycloneRachel/pseuds/CycloneRachel
Summary: Or, Brainy loses his ring, and has to tell his friends.For some of them, it's not as easy as it sounds.





	Grounded

Nia’s the first to know.

No surprise in that, of course, she was there- she saw him get tricked, completely fooled by the Hat’s act of legerdemain. She saw how he reached into the hat- that defied all logic and physics, but that was another matter entirely- and when his hand came back out of it, his ring was gone. And she saw their opponent handling it, with a look of pride, as he left.

And she’s the one who talks to him first, afterwards.

She tells him setbacks will make him stronger, just as they’re meant to for her- but he doesn’t need to learn that lesson. He’s been through enough setbacks, this ring is _his_. Isn’t he allowed this one victory, this one flawless invention that’s served him so well for seven years? Isn’t he allowed to be selfish, to want it back more than anything else, just this once?

But he can’t tell her that. He can’t show her all the failures, all the times his teammates have told him to keep moving forward, which in that situation should be more important than said failures. All the times they’ve been hurt because he’s failed- or their lives have been threatened, and he’s been upstaged.

It’s happened in this century before, and he supposes he might have to get used to it- but he doesn’t want to. He _will_ fight back, he’ll get his ring, he’ll-

He buries his face in his hands, just for a moment. And when he turns back to Nia, he’s smiling.

“Yes.” He says. “In fact, I’ve already started coming up with a plan to get it back.”

“Good.” She answers. “So, you want to let me in on it? I could help.”

“If I need you, I will let you know. But, Nia Nal?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“No problem, Brainy.”

Querl doesn’t consider himself a good liar. It’s one of the skills he’s least proficient in- however, sometimes… when one tells a lie, gradually, they come to believe it.  
He hopes that’s true of himself, at this point.

~  
Alex is next- another logical decision, although he wouldn’t have chosen to be there while she’s still suffering from the effects of a head injury.

“Director Danvers?” he asks, after Kara leaves the trailer. “May I enter?”

Alex laughs a little bit, before waving him in, and he climbs inside.

“What’s up?” she says. “And don’t say the ceiling.”

“…I was not going to. I know the meaning of that colloquial phrase- you taught it to me when you first took me to visit Kara’s loft in real life.”

“Right…” she trails off. But soon her focus is back to Brainy, and she gives him a weak smile. “Seriously, though, are you okay?”

Brainy gulps. “Please do not be mad at me.” He answers. “But, I believe you recall the time when you effectively “grounded” me?”

“Yeah, when you flew off without warning all the time, even though I didn’t tell you to.” She says. “What’s that have to do with this situation?”

“I…” he starts, and holds out his hands to Alex.

“Oh.” She says, holding them. “You… you lost your ring.”

“Indeed.” Brainy answers. “I apologize- I know I rely on it, perhaps too much, so maybe this is meant to teach me a lesson-“

“Nah.”

“Sorry?”

“I’m just saying, you don’t need to think like that.” She says. “You need to think like you- you’re just as smart without the ring, right?”

“Yes…”

“Well, what you’re gonna do is find out as much as you can about-“

“The Hat.” Brainy answers. “He was the thief.”

“Right. That guy.” Alex says. “That’s your assignment- and then you’re going to figure out how you can get it back, using his rules. Dissecting what he does, and coming up with something better. Understand?”

Brainy nods, and Alex gives him a quick hug.

“Very good, Agent Dox. Dismissed.”

~

J’onn is after her, though he already knew- and before their talk is over, he’s been invited over to his office. Just to relax, and to strategize- although, from how sick he looks when he comes back, Querl has a feeling that they’ve both gone through losses.

Lena follows J’onn, when he meets her in the DEO, and she tells him she’ll see what she can do about making a replacement. Of course, she won’t have any of the materials he needs, but she’s going to do her best, and he’s confident that it’ll work as a decent replacement for the time being.

A time that, he hopes, will not be very long at all.

But then again, such things are never certain.

James is next, and he gives him the specifics of the situation over brunch. It’s something Querl didn’t understand at first, although once he experienced it, he certainly had no problems with it, and he’s been enjoying it with him for several weeks now. But at this moment, he can hardly enjoy it, imagining what kind of deeds could be done using the ring’s power when not in his hands.

 _I created the ring for the exclusive use of the Legion,_ he thinks. _It belongs to me, and my team. I cannot allow this…_

He hardly knows James, however, so their talk is mostly limited to business, and James asking him about himself. And Querl asking about Winn, their mutual friend- although it becomes clear that both of them share a respect and admiration for him that may have gone beyond friendship if Winn was still there.

Querl wonders, briefly, if James still thinks of him as Winn’s replacement. If James would rather have Winn here, right now, eating with him and talking about normal topics, the likes of which Querl cannot replicate. If Winn had lost something of great importance to him, how much more would James be comforting him?

Querl doesn’t know the answers to these questions, and he’s not sure he wants to. But he knows that there’s one more person he has to tell- and she’ll be the most difficult to go to.

“James?” Querl says. “How should I, um, “break this news” to Kara?”

“Honestly?” James suggests. “I mean, that’s really it. Tell her the truth, and she’ll help you- but between you and me, I think it’ll turn out alright.”

“Why?”

“I mean, you’re going to figure something out, right? Even if you have to wait for an opportunity, when the time comes, you’ll know, and that’s when you act. But I really think you’ll be able to get it back somehow.”  
“Oh, I plan on it. Thank you, James Olsen.”

“No problem.”

~

It’s at her loft.

That, alone, makes the atmosphere much more subdued, and peaceful- alongside the lowered lighting, the presence of candles, the pleasant aroma, and of course, the food and drinks set out for movie night.

Querl’s there alone, after having asked Alex to arrive “fashionably late” (another phrase he’s learned from her and her sister), although of course Kara is beside him, handing him a blanket.

“I saw this and thought you’d like it.” She says. “You wear so much purple, I figured it would suit you- and that, since you’re in my apartment more, you could use one. And you could even take it into the DEO, since I know it’s probably still really cold in your room.”

“Yes, this does seem useful.” Brainy answers, wrapping it around himself. It’s a very dark purple, much darker than his original uniform, or most of the purple items of clothing he wears. But it’s soft and warm, and he almost never wants to take it off. “Thank you, Kara.”

“You’re very welcome.” She says. “So, what movie do you want?”

“…The movie can wait.” He answers, as she looks at him. He wanted to lie, or at least prolong the truth, but he can’t under her gaze. “I… need to tell you that I lost my Legion ring. While we were fighting.”

“Lost? Like, it’s in Wyoming right now? Because I can fly over there and get it back, easy.”

“I am aware of that. But no, it is not that easy. The ring was stolen.”

“By one of the Elite?”

“Yes.”

“The guy with the hat?”

Brainy nods.

“Sorry.” Kara says. 

“I wasn’t expecting it.” Brainy answers. “I am aware that you want me to be better, and that you expect more of me- that I shouldn’t have let myself lose my ring. Especially not now.”

Kara’s heart aches, just looking at him, and she scoots closer to him on the couch as she holds his hand.

“I know.” She says. “It feels awful.”

“Understatement of the millennium. And… the ring was mine, Kara. I invented it. The one I had was the very first, that I forged with my own hands, that I tested so much- it felt as though there was a connection, between the ring and myself, even though it is not sentient. And losing it feels…”

“Like you’ve lost a part of you.”

Brainy nods.

“I know now that it is unhealthy to put one’s feelings into boxes.” He says. “So, I will allow myself the opposite, if you’ll let me.”

“Of course.” She says, and he hugs her, starting to cry over her shoulder. She only pats his back, holding him as tight as she would with any of her other friends, and hopes he’ll be okay.

“Do you want me to tell you about how I lost my powers, once?” Kara asks. “Well, a lot more than once, actually- but the first time…”

He pays full attention to her, the whole time she’s speaking, and when she’s done he leans back, looking impressed.

“That is incredible, Kara.” He says. “However, I do not have any such weakness- how would those things apply to me?”

“I’ve been a hero without my suit, and without my powers, Brainy.” She says. “And I’ve gotten through both- just like you’re gonna get through being a hero without your ring. For both of us, we aren’t defined by our powers.”

She affects the voice of a far older man, as she speaks next.

“It is our choices, Querl, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

“…Rowling, 1998.”

“Very good.” She says, back to her normal voice. “But you get the point, right?”

“I believe I do now. Again, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. And besides…”

Kara looks around her loft, before shooting up to rummage around in one of her drawers, retrieving a box from it. She goes back to Querl, opening the box and holding its contents out to him.

“You can always borrow mine.”

“You had one this entire time, and you didn’t tell me?”

“Well, it was either this one or the one that may or may not be at the Fortress of Solitude, and I figured you didn’t want to face Kelex again, so…”

“I’ll take it, for now. I could not be more grateful.”

“I’m glad. So… where’s Alex?”

Querl laughs nervously.

“About that…”


End file.
